Policy Recommendations on Citizenship Education for Sustainable European Democracy

Policy Recommendations on Citizenship Education for Sustainable European Democracy presents key findings from Critical ChangeLab, a European initiative co-funded by the Horizon Europe programme. The project brought together universities, civil society organisations, and cultural institutions across 11 EU countries to explore how education can strengthen democratic culture, critical literacy, and civic participation among young people.

Drawing on over 80 Critical ChangeLabs conducted between 2022 and 2025, the paper proposes a model of democratic education structured around four core concepts: Everyday Democracy, linking democratic practice to daily social relations; Critical Consciousness, fostering awareness of power and agency for change; Participative Democratic Health, extending democratic assessment to schools and learning institutions; and Creative Technological Environments, promoting critical and creative engagement with technology through a shift from STEM to STEAM.

Ten policy recommendations are outlined for EU and national policymakers, schools, and educators, advocating for participatory formats of civic learning, youth involvement in assessing democratic health and technological governance, and teacher training that embeds democratic competence across disciplines.

By connecting empirical experimentation with policy design, this paper argues that renewing European democracy requires embedding democratic values, reflection, and creative action into everyday educational practices, enabling young people to co-create more just, resilient, and sustainable futures.